Is Standardization Now Holding Us Back?

February 19, 2009 · Filed Under Best Practices, Cost Avoidance, Cost Management, standardization

Savings Beyond Price -Weekly eNewsletter – February 18, 2009

Robert T. Yokl

President & Chief Value Strategist

Challenging Conventional Wisdom in Supply Chain Management

We all get trapped into believing what we have been taught over the years about what works in supply chain management, or what we call the CONVENTIONAL WISDOM (ideas or concepts that are accepted without question as being true). I call this “getting stuck” in the old ways of doing things. This can be dangerous to your healthcare organizations financial fitness.

In fact, most ideas and concepts that are considered CONVENTIONAL WISDOM today do change over time, and therefore need to be challenged and reevaluated if you are to stay relevant, progressive and forward thinking in our supply chain practices.

One such CONVENTIONAL WISDOM that has outlived its useful life is that standardization is the one key to supply chain success. This fact is standardization is actually holding back new and better savings for your healthcare organization.

Here’s why. No one size, shape, color, formulation or mix of products, will not universally meet ALL of your customer’s exact requirements. You will either over-shoot or under-shoot your mark if you believe every customer has the same functional requirements thereby one size fits all situations. That’s why you have found it impossible to standardize on pacemakers, ICDs, orthopedics, spinal implants, etc. It just won’t work because every patient has different medical requirements that can’t be standardized. Your goal should be customization (built to the exact specification of each customer group), not standardization which is now becoming the new CONVENTIONAL WISDOM in this new healthcare economy.

I would also ask you to challenge and reevaluate the CONVENTIONAL WISDOM that everything you buy must be disposable. The healthcare organizations that we have worked with who have the lowest total cost are the ones who recycle, launder or reprocess more reusable kits, trays, gowns, towels and custom packs than their peers.

Summing up, everything that you have learned over the years that was thought to be true, isn’t always based on fact. You must constantly be challenging and reevaluating what you are doing so that you don’t fall into the trap of believing that what you are doing is the most cost effective or efficient way to do business. There could be a better way

Never…ever stop questioning the CONVENTIONAL WISDOM that once was thought to be infallible because very few things last forever!

Your Partner In Savings Beyond Price™,

Robert T Yokl

Chief Value Strategist

Strategic Value Analysis® In Healthcare

Bobpres@strategicva.com

1-800-220-4274

P.S. If you would like more information on how to reorganize, reinvent and reinvigorate your value analysis teams to be better than good you might want to download my White Paper” Strategic Value Analysis®: Savings Beyond Price™” that will give you an insiders’ view on how to do it.